35 Things I Feel Are Important To Do By 35

Happy birthday to me! I read this article once, when I was 30, about 30 things you should do by 30. While entertaining I read it with a bit of sarcasm. Things like ‘own your own umbrella’, ‘start your 401k’, ‘have your career well under way’ (what does that even mean!). I don’t know, maybe those are good things but I still don’t have an umbrella and I’m ticking over 35 today! Perhaps that particular list wasn’t right for me but I do like the idea of reflecting on our life on this planet regularly as a way to move forward in an intentional way. Here are 35 things I think are important.

By 35 you should:

Be able to follow your intuition and not be heavily influenced by peer pressure.

Focused on paying off your debts.

Take at least one long road trip.

Follow politics and think independently about issues rather than parties.

Have some sort of financial plan for supporting yourself when you are too old to work manual/mental labor.

Create. Every day if you can. Do something that inspires your happiness.

Have a ‘bucket list’ accessible for reference.

Challenge your fears regularely.

Help others and help your community often.

Carry $20 in your purse/wallet for emergencies.

Forgive yourself for mistakes made in your youth.

Have a weeks worth of meals you can whip out without a recipe and without a microwave.

Be passionate about something and share that, get involved in it’s path.

Learn how to make a good apology (there are four parts!) and offer it first every so often ;-).

Read books.

Floss your teeth!

Accept compliments and say ‘thank you’ often.

Choose quality. Friends, furnishings, food, fun.

Drink more water.

Picnic as often as possible, preferably outside.

Try new hairstyles.

Know how to use a power tool.

Learn how to invest your money.

Wear sunscreen.

Ask questions.

Appreciate the good in others.

Appreciate good people more than good things.

Time > Money, act accordingly. You can always earn another dollar, you can’t earn another minute.

Never sacrifice honestly, integrity and self-respect they are valuable assets.

Choose your words wisely, they can haunt you.

If you think a nice thing, say the nice thing.

Be able to say ‘no’ it’s more important than saying ‘yes’. Learn which is necessary and when.

Chose your company well, you are the average of the people you spend the most time with.

Realize that you can’t please everyone, that’s okay.

Slow down, enjoy deeper. Being ‘busy’ isn’t a metric of how good your life is.

I expect this to be a big year of meaningful changes and shifts for me and that’s exciting! I am off to paint away the rest of the day! Thank you all for the kind words over the years and being a positive part of my life! Wishing you all a great year ahead too!

Like this:

I am an artist, a steward, a minimalist at heart... I love being out in the sunshine... I love animals of nearly every kind, at least the furry ones, I am trying to be a gardener... I believe people are good at the core but are also capable of very bad things when they aren't intentional about their actions... I love my family, my passions and my life... I am just me :)

Aw, I love this, I feel like these are things that we discuss regularly, so maybe it’s also a sort of life code, and hopefully some of these things trickle down to our little ones. PS you need to work on 24 more (I probably should too!) and great photo! 😉 Happy Birthday, love you!

Macy Miller

My name is Macy, I started building my 196 square foot tiny home December 2011, in the process I met a boy, James. 18 months after starting my house we moved in and started our family which includes our daughter, Hazel, son, Miles, and our Great Dane, Denver. This is where I talk about my experience with all of that :).
To learn more about us click here

Ethan's fantastic resource for all things tiny house. Takes you through every decision, from noob to dweller.

Newsletter Signup

To receive my newsletter sign up here!

Email

Name

Please wait...

Thank you for signing up!

The best magazine out there on the topic. For tiny house people from tiny house people. 3+ years of a monthly magazine 60-80ish pages each with awesome photos and one of a kind articles.Dan Louche's great guide to actual tiny house construction including lots of details and images!The best guide I have found to simplify off grid power!A set of four DVD's from an experienced contractor with one of the most famous tiny houses out there going through all the 'how-to's'Dee Williams pamphlet specifying moisture control considerations and trailer connection detailsThis is just a great book! With a pretty house on the cover! ;-)This is just a great book! With a pretty house on the cover! ;-)